Diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and other eye-popping gemstones are up for grabs this week at Christie’s and Sotheby’s two-day binge of jewelry auctions in Geneva.
Christie’s leads off today, featuring a seven-carat rectangular-cut blue diamond that’s expected to fetch between $10 million to $14 million when it goes under the hammer.
As part of its Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels collection, Sotheby’s is presenting this massive 78.29 -carat pear-shaped diamond for sale Nov. 13.
“It’s I-color and potentially flawless. It’s VVS1 Quality but it can be re-polished to be internally flawless, and the estimate is 1.8-2.8 million (Swiss francs),” says Benoit Repellin, Deputy Director of Sotheby’s Jewellery.
Both Sotherby’s and Christies allude to an up-and-down diamond market at the moment, with Repellin acknowledging that the market for white diamonds in particular has gone “soft” – though he’s quick to mention that the 78-carat offering should attract buyers because of its exceptional size.
“The market for white diamonds is a little bit softer, but like when you have like very important stones such as this one, over 50 carats and even like 78 carats, I think there is still a demand from collectors and connoisseurs.”
Sotherby’s most celebrated lot this season is another blue-diamond ring – a vivid blue diamond weighing 3.03 carats, with an estimate of 3.7 to 4.7 million Swiss francs.
Sotheby’s says its sale features “property of an important Asian-American Collection” from some of the world’s most prestigious houses, including Van Cleef & Arpels, highly sought-after Art Deco period pieces by Cartier, and diamond jewels by Harry Winston.
Christie’s has been displaying its wares in Geneva as part of Luxury Week since 7th November. The star of this year’s lot is this 7-carat rectangular-cut blue diamond mounted by Moussaieff.
“You’re looking at a beautiful deep blue diamond right next to me here. It’s a 7-carat rectangular cut stone, beautifully cut, gorgeous color, as you can see, and absolutely clean,” says Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Jewellery at Christie’s.
“The stone has been consigned to us by a private collector who purchased it many years ago and we have it estimated between $10 and 14 million,” he adds.
Its auction includes Kashmir sapphires, Burmese rubies and Colombian emeralds, plus and Art Deco diamond bandeau, resembling a tiara, from Cartier that is “transformable” – it can also be worn as a choker. It’s expected to fetch up to $500,000.
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